Page 4 - 200303 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2003

4 Shuttle Columbia Special 4 Shuttle Columbia Special NASA focusing on 'Achilles' heel' of NASA focusing on 'Achilles' heel' of shuttle shuttle Investigators focus on debris that hit Columbia at Investigators focus on debris that hit Columbia at launch launch JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas (CNN) -- NASA officials Monday concentrated on NASA security officers lower the American flag to half-staff whether a piece of around 11 a.m. ET at Kennedy Space Center after the shuttle's debris that was breakup. (Photo:AP) dislodged during the launch of the space shuttle Columbia may have struck a seam on a landing gear door, a retired NASA engineer told CNN. As a massive investigation sought clues to unlock the mysteries surrounding the final moments of the shuttle, investigators took a closer look at the spot where the debris -- possibly a piece of foam insulation or ice -- appeared to hit the shuttle's left side 80 seconds after liftoff on January 16. The former official said the landing gear door, which protects vital wiring and sensors, is perhaps the most vulnerable part of the The NASA astronaut van, used to carry the crew from the landing shuttle. strip to crew headquarters, returns empty. (Photo:AP) "Nature always finds the Achilles' heel, and for the shuttle, the Achilles' heel is this," the former official said. If the debris struck at the seam, it could have created a fissure in the seal that protects the wheel well and the sensitive wiring that is housed in that area. NASA is exploring whether impact there may have created a blowtorch-like effect that could explain the increase in heat and the failure of the sensors in that location. In its final minutes, the shuttle experienced an unusually high temperature increase on its left side, lost a series of sensors on the left wing and then rolled unexpectedly to the left, according to a NASA data analysis. NASA is also looking at what may have caused the debris to fall off the external fuel tank. The tank that was used on Columbia was heavier than the tanks that have been used more recently on shuttle missions to the international space station. Investigators will be Debris believed to be a piece of space shuttle Columbia lies behind police barrier tape in downtown Nacogdoches, Texas. looking at whether any failure in the process of affixing foam (Photo:AP) insulation to the tank or in the storage of the tank prior to use may have weakened the bond, the retired official said. Meanwhile, federal, state and local officials worked to recover thousands of pieces of debris spread across Texas and Louisiana, and NASA engineers pored over mounds of data, trying to understand what happened in the moments before Columbia disintegrated 40 miles above Earth on Saturday morning. The independent panel investigating the Columbia disaster met for the first time Monday at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. "We have begun our work and we will work diligently and rapidly until this matter is cleared up," Retired Navy Adm. Harold Gehman Jr. said as he took the reins of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Remains of some of the astronauts began arriving late Sunday at Barksdale, where they will be examined by pathologists from the The flag over the White House flies at high-staff early Saturday Armed Forces Institute, a NASA spokeswoman said. afternoon. President Bush was at Camp David at the time of the breakup, and soon afterward returned to the White House by (Continued on Page 5) motorcade. (Photo:AP)